The present invention relates to document editing and printing systems comprising a data processor such as a personal computer or a word processor and a printer, and more particularly to methods of correcting data to be printed.
Conventionally, there is a technique which is employed for coping with the appearance of data to be corrected in a document under printing, as disclosed in Japanese Patent Applications JP-A-64-21528 and 61-267124. The technique includes monitoring during printing whether there is a user's request to stop printing, stopping printing at the request and enabling interruption of other operations, and then reprinting the document. In addition, in order to monitor a document under printing, that portion of the document where printing is stopped is displayed on a display as well as on a paper, as disclosed in JP-A-59-188453.
In any of these techniques, it is not considered for correction of data itself under printing. If data are to be corrected in the document, print is immediately terminated, the document is corrected in a document edition process and the document is printed again from the beginning. Thus, the user's operation is complicated.
It is a first object of the present invention to provide a print data correcting method which is capable of correcting print data during printing without terminating the printing.
It is a second object of the present invention to provide a print data correcting method which efficiently displays correctable (print-waiting) data and uncorrectable (already printed) data when the print data are corrected.
It is a third object of the present invention to provide a print data correcting method which displays correctable print data distinctively from uncorrectable print data.
It is a fourth object of the present invention to provide a print data correcting method which is capable of correcting data even if print data cover a plurality of lines.
It is a fifth object of the present invention to provide a print data correcting method which is capable of correcting all print data during printing by effectively using print data printed so far.
It is a sixth object of the present invention to provide a print data correcting method which is capable of correcting print data even if it is used with a printer having a built-in buffer in which the timing of receiving print data differs from the timing of printing the received data.